


A Blossoming Rose

by SilentRose



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - No one dies, F/F, F/M, Faunus Qrow Branwen, Faunus Summer Rose, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Qrow Branwen Isn't An Alcoholic, Salem's A Bitch, Selectively Mute Summer Rose, and drags out the rest of team STRQ by being an idiot, he just likes to party, teenagers being idiots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 10:48:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21160421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentRose/pseuds/SilentRose
Summary: Beacon. A place for young adults to further mature their bodies, brains, and skills to hunt the dark creatures that are Grimm. Everything Summer Rose has been hoping for (and more, she later realized) after having been on her own for so long in Patch. Unlike most of these...Children, Summer has battle experience, and a lot to boot. She doesn't begrudge them for not having gone through what she did, she's rather happy that she's the one to have gone through it, so no one else had to.Love, Hate, Anger, and Tears ensue. But she wouldn't trade this experience for the world.





	1. Arrival

The first thing Summer noticed as she stepped on the airship, was the incessant humming of the airship. Looking around and seeing people already on board made her walls shoot up. Glancing around quickly, she slipped around the other students to slip into a corner. It was insanely easy, much to her chagrin. I guess being 4'11 had its advantages, not like you'd ever get her to admit it aloud. Finally in her corner, Summer sank down the wall and pulled out a book, titled 'The Man with Two Souls", as she kept her ears attuned to the room to listen for instructions or trouble. Summer was thankful she was a Faunus. To be specific, she was a Rabbit Faunus. It made hunting easier, and it made making trips at night not nearly as deadly with her being able to see the Grimm roaming around her small cabin, enabling her to avoid them completely.  
With about an hour left in the ride, some of the other students were clearly getting antsy. Summer could tell, because every few seconds she'd hear a squeak from two girls, followed by the crowd counting, having already formed a circle around whatever idiocy was going on. Well, she was a teenager too, ya know? So of COURSE she wanted to see what was going on, due to sheer curiosity. As she tried to maneuver through the crowd, she got to a point where even she couldn't squeeze through, but she STILL couldn't see what was happening. With an embarrassed sigh, she crouched quickly and leapt, high enough to see a glimpse of what was happening. After a few more jumps she was sure of it. Some guy was bench pressing two girls, and had gotten fairly high. Good for him. As she started to ponder what all he could do, she felt herself being lifted up by her cloak. Even though it was white on the outside and red on the inside, she tended to blend very well when she was around other people. After a second of panic, she found herself on this guy's shoulders -she could tell it was a guy because of his broad shoulders- wrapping her legs around his neck and pressing two of her knives in one hand to his neck, the other grabbing his jaw to prevent him from moving, the wisps of her rose petals fading out of the corner of her eye.

When she blinked, she could see the side of his face going purple, so she let up from around his throat, but still pointed the knives at him and held his jaw. With a pointed look that she was SURE he could feel, she leaned down and whispered in his ear.

  
"What."

  
In reality, she hadn't tried to whisper, she tried to yell, but her voice was clearly not used to being used. She was going to say something more, worried he didn't understand the full question of 'What are you doing trying to pick me up' but he spoke, so it was pointless.

  
"Shouldn't you buy a guy dinner BEFORE you start whispering sweet nothings into his ear?"

  
A flash of rose petals around his face and suddenly she was standing in front of him, tilting her head looking confused. She found him standing there with a shit eating grin on his face, but was very confused why. After a moment, she realized it was starting to strain her neck, having to look up so much. He was tall, and she meant, TALL. It looked like he was wearing stilts. He was thin, and tall, but you could tell he was built for combat. He had dark, almost feathery hair, and a beard shadow. His eyes were a piercing Red, such a contrast to her cold steel Silver ones. Snapping out of her daydreaming, she could see he wasn't grinning, but looked to be having fun nonetheless.

  
"Oh, you didn't get that huh? I love making the innocent ones blush. Qrow Branwen, a name you'll become very familiar with, I'm sure." he said with a cocky smirk. Not wanting to be rude, she nodded and whispered out a

  
"Summer Rose." Happy to have made a friend, she smiles to herself. Leaning on her head with his elbow, Qrow laughs.

  
"So Shortstack, you impressed by that guy's lifting too?" Whirling on him, her eyes light up with a fire in anger and she goes to draw her knives to cut him with, but she finds them missing, frantically looking for them, she hears Qrow clear his throat.  
"Lookin for these?" he says, holding the two knives in between two of his fingers, handle up. With a huff of anger, she shoots her arm down, causing a mass to slide down her arm, pressing a button on the handle, as it unfurls into the shape of a scythe and it hits the deck of the ship with a THUNK, causing the airship to drop about a meter in the air, the tip of the scythe coming to the point of Qrow's throat. He just finds this hilarious.  
"Oh man, the look on your face! That was good stuff, good stuff" As it looks like he's going to continue, a hand comes up to smack Qrow in the back of the head. At this, Summer sheathes her Scythe.

  
"Stop flirting with death, birdbrain. If anyone's gonna be the one to kill you, it's gonna be ME, so no going and getting people pissed at you, that's my job." She turns to Summer with a glint in her eye. "Sorry about him shorty, this doofus here doesn't know when to stop flirting and when to shut his mouth." At the word 'shortie' Summer looks like she's gonna burst a gasket. At 'flirting', she's as red as the inside of her cloak. "Oh man, she IS fun to tease. I almost feel bad for hitting you Qrow. Almost."

  
"Gee, thanks Raven. Asshole."  
Thinking for a moment, she points at Qrow and then Raven, and makes a sign, putting her two raised fingers together, next to each other. For a moment there was pure silence, which was weird because even the counting stopped, before Qrow was laughing so hard he was crying, and Raven looked like she wanted to vomit. She did, indeed, mime vomiting. Looking very confused, she looked between them for an answer, waiting for one of them to answer her very loud confused looks she sent their way. Catching her eye, Qrow stands straight and answers her.  
"We're not together, she's my sister!" At this, she blushes deeply and stomps her foot, causing the airship to shake, immediately cutting off the noise Qrow and Raven had been making. She mumbled something to herself. Not catching it, he leans closer to her.  
"What was that Shortstack?" Huffing at the nickname, she mimics the motion she made earlier and says,

  
"Friends." At this, Qrow has the decency to look sheepish.

  
"Oh. You were asking if we were friends." At this, he receives a stiff nod from the shorter girl. Taking a look, Summer can see how they're family. Raven has the same feathery hair that Qrow does, but the tips of her hair look more like quills than anything. She also shares that piercing red gaze, though most of the time, Summer noticed, she seems to glare. She is also nearly as tall as her brother, but it seems he still has a head or so above her. Behind her they all heard a,

  
"Well well, yet another cutie to come admire the Xiao-Long family's muscles. The name's Taiyang." You could practically HEAR the shine in this boy's eyes. He tried to grab her shoulder to turn her around, and without looking, she deployed her scythe sticking it into the deck of the ship, just an inch away from Taiyang's toes. With a girly squeal he jumped back and stuttered.  
"Y-you missed.." At this, Summer turned on a dime and gave him a look that would surely kill, if that were her Semblance. The look clearly said 'I missed on purpose. I won't do it again.' Looking at him, he seemed...strange. He was shorter than Raven, but taller than herself. He was easily the bulkiest of the four of them, he was built like a truck. His amber eyes, filled with fear for now, seemed to be...too eager to fit the rest of his frame. Turning back around, Summer grabbed Qrow's elbow and pulled him along, away from the other two, much to their confused looks. Qrow just smirked and winked at Taiyang, gesturing behind him, implying something more. This caused Tai to blush, and Raven to facepalm.

  
"Welp, looks like shortie's gonna kill my brother. Dammit, now I owe mom 1,500 Lien." Hearing this, Tai turned to her, looking incredulously at her.

  
"You BET....with your MOTHER...on your brother's death?" Raven just gave him a nonplussed look.

  
"Yeah? And?" He blinked. Twice.

  
"I can't even begin to unpack how messed up that is."


	2. A Single Step

If Qrow knew one thing, it was that his usual snarky responses now, would get him killed. Here he was, standing in an unused Janitor's closet, with the small white bundle that is Summer Rose, his new....what, exactly? Acquaintance? Friend? -Yeah, friend, that sounded right- pressed against his chest, sobbing, her tears soaking through his grey shirt. Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his arms around her and cradled her head, like it was the most precious thing in the world to him. At that moment, it was. Regardless of the front he puts up, he was a pretty sensitive guy, he wasn't afraid to admit he cried sometimes. His mom taught him from an early age that crying was a strength, for why would we be able to do it, if it only weakened us? If he was being honest with himself, as he was wont to do, when she dragged him all the way here without anyone else around, pushed him into this room, and almost slammed into him, pushing him into the wall, he expected...well, at least a makeout session. Not tears, never tears. It shattered his heart to see this small, sweet bundle bearing her soul out into the fabric of his shirt. Sure, she hadn't been exactly talkative, but he was plenty talkative for the both of them. Just 'cause she's feisty doesn't mean she isn't sweet. Something about her brought out this...protective side of her that seemed...instinctual. Something in the most primitive part of his brain told him to _protect_ and _sooth__e._ But then there was another part of him that told him to _tease _and _prod_, to see what makes her tick. Humming softly, he murmured to her, soothingly.

"It's okei, we're safe. I've got you, don't worry, I'm not gonna let anything hurt you. It'll be okei, we're here." In the back of his mind, he realized he knew the signs of what she was going through. _A panic attack._ He was, unfortunately, familiar with them, first hand. He noticed her legs shaking and held her to his chest, slowly sliding down the wall and setting her in his lap, effectively straddling him, but anything other than protecting and calming this girl down was FAR from his thoughts. With his heavy heartbeat thudding in Summer's ear, she slowly started to calm down, until she stopped crying altogether. Looking up, her eyes widened just a little bit, like she was breaking out of a spell, and she smiled bashfully.

"Thank you. For..." She trailed off there, but she didn't need to finish it. It seemed like they could communicate without any words whatsoever. He just shook his head.

"Don't worry about it Summer. You needed someone safe, I'm glad I could be that person, Pipsqueak." This earned him an annoyed huff, but she couldn't stop the small smile that pulled her features up just a little.

"Me too, Stilts. Me too." she said, shaking her head incredulously. This made him laugh pretty hard, for their quiet surroundings that is.

"Ah, knew I liked you for a reason!" And there was that _damn _smirk that told everyone, no, _screamed_ 'Yeah, I'm hot shit and I know it, what about it?' But for some reason, she couldn't find it in her to hate it. It just added to his charm, she guessed.

"Look. I...I'm not quite sure WHY I trust you so much, and what I'm about to do is pretty stupid, but..just....I trust you." Summer reached one hand up to her hood, about to take it off, the other hand still on his chest, shirt fisted in her small hand, almost desperately, as if to make sure he was still there. At this Qrow chuckled.

"What's the matter Pipsqueak? Got bedhead? I don't really mind, ya know" He said, shooting her a wink that made her face grow hot, for a reason she couldn't understand.

"No, Birdboy, just....ugh, why did I trust you again?" She said with a bit of humor in her tone.

"Maybe I'm just too irresistible for you to leave be?" She was gonna wipe that _damn_ smirk off his face, one way or another. Taking a deep breath, she pulled back her hood, revealing her long, fluffy rabbit ears, the same shade of red-fading-to-black as her hair. But for some reason, the smirk stayed, hell, it'd _grown_. "So you're a Faunus? Cool. So am I, actually." As Qrow said this, he reached up to run his hand through his hair, and after a quick wince, he pulled out a small feather, and placed it in her braided crown, then shrugged. This just caused Summer's mouth to drop open.

"Are you....serious?" She seemed more upset than he thought she'd be. Huffing air out of her nose, she mumbles, "Well, guess that just leaves the dumbest of all choices..." As he got closer to ask what she had meant, she rushed forward and kissed him, both hands fisted into the back of his shirt. His surprise lasted for a second before he started kissing her back. It felt like someone was shocking her, from her tail all the way up to her ears. His arms wrapped around and rest on her the back of her hips, dangerously close to her tail. At this point, she was getting lost in the sensation of kissing him, her hips unconsciously raising to have him stroke her tail. Before she could lift her hips enough, she felt something hard pressing into her thigh. It was hot as hell and only getting hotte-Oh. _OH._ O-of course he would..._react_. She could feel her face getting hotter. She broke off the kiss and hid in his shirt, her face as red as the inside of her cloak. As his brain caught up from the rush of hormones and blood..._elsewhere_...He realized she was hiding.

"Damn." As he looked down at her, he tried to pull her away from his chest to look her in the eye, but she clung to him like a chinchilla. Sighing, he spoke again. "Look, I get that you probably regret doing that, buh-mmph" As she caught on to what he was saying, she sat up and kissed him full force. If he didn't have his Semblance, he was sure he'd have lost a few of his teeth. As she moved back, breaking the kiss, she felt that..._bulge_ press directly against her through her panties, and she squeaked, face turning a bright red, but she refused to move, stumbling through her words.

"I d-d-don't regret i-i-it. M-my first k-kiss." She looked away, face feeling like it'd explode any second. Qrow felt like he was gonna choke on his pulse any minute. He was only saved by the door being thrown open and light flooding the room. There, at the entrance, stood his sister and that blonde idiot, Tai. The sight must've been something to behold. Summer, hood down, hair disheveled, ears (thankfully) hidden, with kiss bruised lips, sitting in Qrow's lap, on Qrow's very obvious..._appreciation_, his visage looking nonetheless disheveled than Summer's did

"Told you they came here to fuck, but you couldn't leave well enough alone, could you, Golden Boy? C'mon, pay up." The snarky remark had obviously come from Raven, Summer had surmised, whilst in the middle of trying to die from embarrassment, hiding against Qrow's chest. The grumbling behind her back was obviously an unhappy Tai paying his debt.

"Geez, you're ruthless. But I guess that makes me dumb for taking the bait." At this, Raven just laughed, a true, genuine laugh, one Qrow had only ever heard rarely. It surprised him what that blonde dork could pull out of his sister. Then he remembered what the hell she'd just said and spoke up.

"Hold the fuck up Raven, we didn't come here to fuck we-" He felt the tug on his shirt and looked down, into eyes that so clearly said 'don't tell them the real reason we're here, _please_'. He raised his eyebrow to question, but she just barely nodded. Sighing, he continued. "We came here cause I told her there was something cool over here. I got her away from you both cause I wanted to tease her without you two butting in. Can't blame me for wanting to tease her all by myself, can you?" Tai looked like he bought it, like it made perfect sense, but Raven just raised a very skeptical eyebrow.

"And her riding you like a horse?" At that, Tai choked, Summer squeaked and buried her face in Qrow's neck, and even Qrow had to pull on the collar of his shirt to get some air. The way that Summer was pressed against him, he could tell that she was..._enjoying_ what they were doing earlier, just as much as he was. Thinking quickly, he looked back at his sister.

"Truth or Dare. Things got a bit escalated." He lied coolly. "Truth be told, I didn't expect her to get as far as she did, I just expected her to pick Truth every time. She just did the opposite, what a way to surprise me." He said, running his hand through his hair. A nervous tick, Summer thought. An evil gleam perked up in Raven's eyes that told Qrow he would very much regret choosing that specific lie.

"Oh? Then why don't we play too. C'mon Tai." She responded, picking Tai up like he weighed nothing more than a sack of potatoes, and dropped him, a bit gentler than she picked him up, next to Qrow, and pulled Summer off his lap and onto her ass on the floor next to them, Summer _slamming_ her legs closed underneath her, even though the ruffles of her skirt were more than enough to sit comfortably, she shifted to sitting on her knees. This did _not_ go unnoticed by Raven, who just smirked a little. Confused by what was happening for a little bit, Tai spoke up.

"So, who's turn is it?" He asked, looking to the two previous occupants of the room. Summer raised her hand, after having lowered her hood to hide her face behind it. She turned to Raven.

"Truth or Dare, Raven?"

"Hmmm...Truth." Summer smiled softly for a moment. She knew just how to change the topic of the heated one they had been found in.

"Who is older, you or Qrow?"

"Me, by four minutes." This surprised Summer. She knew they were siblings, but twins? "My turn. Tai, Truth or Dare." Rather predictably, Tai responded,

"Dare!" This caused a shudder inducing grin to form on Raven's face.

"Kiss Qrow." Summer choked a little, Tai blanched, and Qrow laughed his ass off, making little kissy faces at Tai. That really irked Summer, and he caught her angry glare and stopped, quickly. "Well? If you don't do it, you have to tell us a Truth. Thems the rules." Qrow snorted, repeating her.

"Thems the rules."

"Truth then!" Tai responds, face burning.

"Aww, gotta protect that fragile masculinity? Alright then, and no backing out of this one. Is there someone in this room you like?" Sighing in defeat, he contemplated if he could just do the dare. These Branwen twins were ruthless. Knowing he backed himself into a corner, he took a deep breath.

"Yes." This got Summer poking him in the ribs, Qrow laughing, telling him to spit it out, and Raven to smirk victoriously. After refusing to say who, he turned to Qrow, and asked.

"Qrow, Truth or Dare."

"I'll go Truth this time." This earned him a small, pleased smile. It was more unnerving than his usual bombastic attitude.

"Did you enjoy kissing Summer?" There was this unknowable glint in his eye, it put Qrow on edge. At hearing the question, Summer burst into petals and appeared behind Qrow's back, using him to hide. But unlike his usual snarky attitude, Qrow was oddly serious.

"Yes. She tasted like strawberries and cookie dough." He felt Summer untense behind him, '_apparently someone liked that answer_.' "Tai, Truth or Dare."

"Fuck it, Truth this time." This caused the trademarked Brawnwen Smirk™️ to appear on Qrow's face.

"Fuck, Marry, Kill, us in this room. Don't lie. We'll know." Even Raven started at that one. Tai took a deep breath.

"In order. I'm not going to repeat it. I don't WANT to kill anyone but it's part of the thing. So deal." He points to Qrow "Fuck." There's a small growl behind Qrow somewhere. He points to Raven. "Marry." He nods at Summer's assumed position behind Qrow. "Kill. But I seriously wouldn't want to kill anyone." There's absolute silence for a minute, total and dead like a Beowulf's corpse before it disappears into ash. Raven, with a small blush, stands up and leaves the room, saying nothing. Tai blinks, and follows after her. Qrow blinks, and sighs.

"Raven's gonna kill that idiot. Looks like I owe mom 1,200 Lien." Summer wraps her arms around Qrow's waist, setting her forehead against his back and starts _giggling.'This girl is gonna be the death of me. I'm oddly okei with that.'  
_


	3. Team STRQ

"Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, Raven Brawnwen, and Qrow Branwen. You will now be known as Team Stark (STRQ), lead by Summer Rose." At the announcement, everyone hugged Summer, even Raven, which was a surprise. After the celebration is done and over with, all the teams are sent to the dorms, where they are free to set up their belongings for class in a few days. After they set their things down and rearrange the room, the beds are side by side, from left to right: Summer, Qrow, Tai, and Raven. Raven was going to say something about the both of them sleeping side by side, but when she seen the look on Summer's face, she knew she couldn't take away her lanky cuddle buddy. She had said that that's _all_ they should be doing under threat of removing reproductive organs. Summer had blushed, and Qrow paled, Tai just laughed. After all the joking, and celebrating, and laughing, and moving furniture, they realized they were ravenous.

After insisting that they go to get the food, he and Raven left to find the cafeteria, leaving Summer and Qrow alone in their dorm.

"So.." Summer trailed off.

"So.." Qrow responded. Taking a big breath, he sighs. "What quite are we, Summer? Are we just frien-"

"No! I-I mean...unless...that's what you want?" Looking down, she tried not to portray her disappointment at that outcome, but ultimately failed.

"I really like you Summer. I don't want to be 'just friends.' So go on a date with me, yeah?" At this, her head perked up, and he could just see her ears slightly tenting her hood.

"After we explore and get our supplies tomorrow?" She replied with hope in her eyes. He patted her head, much to her objections.

"It's a date, Shortstack."

A thump on the door, followed by Raven's voice. "Would you two just fuck and get it over with!?" A sigh followed her loud intrusion.

"Raven, don't be like that, I thought it was sweet."

"Who was the one who said we shouldn't be fucking earlier, Rae?! Make up your damn mind!" That earned him a slap to the arm from Summer.

"You shouldn't talk about...intimate things such as that with your sister!" Qrow only chuckled.

"Sweetheart, I'd never talk to her about you like that. Swear."

\- The following day -

Being a hunter, Summer has always woken up with the sun, it enabled her to get the most out of her day. But she thought today, just today, it'd be okei to sleep in. She just felt so warm, so...cozy. Stretching, she realized her back was pressed against something warm and sturdy. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she turns her head and blushes instantly. There, in her bed, was Qrow. It wasn't as big a deal as her brain said it was, seeing as they all sleep side-by-side, but still! Looking back up at him only caused her heart to beat erratically. He looked so at peace, his hair disheveled, sleep shirt riding up a bit to reveal abs that had clearly been hard won. Sitting up, she looked over at the rest of her team. Her Team! The excitement that ran through her was almost enough to cause her to wake everyone up by yelling in joy. Seeing Tai nearly faceplanted into Ravens breasts made her snicker. He was SO going to get hit when she woke up.

"Come back to bed." A rough, deep voice from below her said, yawning. Smiling, she laid down on Qrow's chest and put her ear to his heartbeat. She wasn't going to lie, this whole dorm thing felt mighty domestic, something she most certainly wasn't opposed to. Closing her eyes, she let his heartbeat lull her back to the sweet embrace of dreams.

-A few hours later-

At roughly about Noon, Raven gracelessly woke everyone up when she herself woke up. You see, Tai hadn't moved since he fell asleep that night after their impromptu dinner. So really, it was Tai's head connecting to the wall that woke them up. Summer sat up quickly, looking for the signs of danger, her hair an absolute nest, her sleep shirt's collar sagging a bit from being well loved.

"Thanks for the lovely view, Shortstack." There was Qrow's wild sleepy voice again, doing things to Summer's spine that she would deny till the day she died. Blushing, she rolled off Qrow and the bed altogether, falling with a yelp. This earned a chuckle from Qrow and Raven. Tai himself looked like the world ended because he had to get up at Noon.

"Dibs on the first shower!" Summer yelled while bursting into rose petals, hearing the door shut a moment after.

"Our leader sure is an interesting one, huh little brother?" Raven said, amusement but surprisingly no sarcasm in her voice.

"I dunno, I kinda like my girls like I like my whiskey."

"Bitter and full of resentment?" Raven quipped

"Hot and strong." Immediately after he said this, there was an immensely loud crashing coming from the bathroom.

"Looks like our Leader heard you, Prince Charming" Tai said, butting in. "Though I like my girls cool and rough." He said, clearly having the image of Raven in his head as he said this.

"In your dreams Lover Boy" Raven replied swiftly, and Qrow could _swear_ he saw the hearts in Tai's eyes get bigger. Before he could make a comment about Tai's statement saying he liked it rough, the bathroom door opened drawing everyone's attention. As Qrow turned around to look at Summer, he underestimated quite a few things about her. A: He expected her to be clothed in more than a towel. B: He expected her to be shy about being even slightly unclothed, much less around other people. He was so very wrong about both aspects. He could swear the dots gathering in his vision weren't figments of his imagination. She was stretching, he long pale neck still glistening with the slight touch of shower water, the towel struggling to hold on for dear life to her C cup breasts, a bit of cleavage showing from the efforts of that _damn _towel.

"Oooookei, as much fun as it is hearing these two's brains fry, Summer, you gotta put on some clothes around them. Otherwise they'll be hard for eternity, and no one wants to deal with that." At this, Summer blushed and hurried pulling clothes on. Qrow was _so_ glad the thick blanket was still over his prone form, or he would've had to deal with the endless teasing from his sister. Hell, he was _still _probably gonna catch shit from her, but that was for later. Tai was the next one to jump up for the shower, as Qrow had to wait out his...predicament. After she was finished dressing, Summer came over and sat down on her bed next to Qrow.

"So, Pipsqueak, what was _that _all about? Nearly gave me a heart attack." She just blushed and giggled softly.

"Sorry, I'm so used to being on my own that I'm not really sure...how to people." Raven snorted behind them as if to say 'duh? I've figured that out by now.' Qrow shot her a warning glare before turning back to Summer.

"You're just lucky I'm a good guy, or I would've pounced on you the moment I saw you" Qrow said, with his usual smirk. Raven coughed out something that sounded suspiciously like 'virgin' before Qrow threw a pillow at her. Summer just chuckled as Tai opened the bathroom door, thankfully for Raven, fully clothed. Qrow took this chance to get up and use the shower, throwing his shirt off behind him, chuckling at Tai's wolf whistling that followed, shortly followed by cheesy porno music. Raven picked up Qrow's shirt and smacked Tai in the face with it and said

"Don't be a dumbass Tai. Well. More than you already are." Summer was much too busy taking in the _sculpted _back of Qrow's shifting slightly due to the movements of his arm as he shut the door behind him.

"Damn Summer, fuck my brother any harder with those eyes and he'll be pregnant by the end of the week." Raven said with that _damn _Branwen Smile™️. Tai lost his shit at what she said.

"But Raven, men can't get preg-" Summer started before Raven (so rudely) interrupted.

"I know what I said Red. Seriously, if you get anymore thirsty than you are now, you'll die of dehydration." Blushing, Summer just turned away and focused on their schedules, making sure she could get everything done before her date with Qrow. Shortly after all the calculations in her head had concluded that yes, she did have enough time to do everything and yes, she even had time to go take a shower and change before the date, (A girl's gotta look her best for a date) Qrow came out, wearing nothing but the towel draped around his waist and the smirk on his face. Yep. This is how she dies, right here, right now. While he was tall and skinny, clearly his shirts never showed just how _muscled _Qrow is. A very small, detached part of her brain notes that she can smell her brain burning from overdrive. (Un)fortunately for her, Qrow notices.

"See somethin ya like Shortstack?" Summer swore she felt her ovaries twitch, and lets out a croaking, dying squeak sound before hiding under the blanket of her bed, vowing to never leave so long as she lives. This just earns cackling from Qrow as he gets dressed, and Raven mutters something along the lines of 'Damn exhibitionists, how is _Tai_ the most normal of you three?' before heading into the shower. After he's well ready and dressed, he looks about and sees that Summer used his feather he gave to her on the ship as a bookmark. Seeing that made his heart soar. Others may have thought it to be demeaning to the gift, but he knew _just_ how important that book was to her. She had it from the ship, all the way through the trials and even the team assigning ceremony. He sat down on the bed next to the lump formerly known as Summer Rose.

"It's okei Summ, I'm dressed now, you can come on out now." Qrow said, as he softly stroked Summer's back, coaxing her out of her blanket shell.

By the time Raven got out of the shower, everyone was dressed, with Tai snacking on some form of chips, while Qrow put his feather into Summer's braid securely, as to ensure it never fell out. Raven stopped dead in her tracks, the silence of her arrival heavy enough to draw attention.

"Everything good Rae?" Qrow asked, turning from what he was doing, hands still in Summer's hair.

"L-little brother..what in the gods' name are you doing with your feather..." Qrow was a bit terrified, he'd never once heard his sister stutter. And what she asked didn't really seem like a question.

"Tying it into Summer's hair?" He responded with a question of his own, showing his confusion. Tai, like usual, brought himself into the conversation. "Why Rae, what's so bad about him putting a feather in her hair? I think its kinda cute, like a sweet little gesture of affection." Raven was really trying to not let her emotions get the better of her. She decided to let the nickname Tai had called her slide just this once (A decision she will later come to regret), as she turns to her brother.

"Not just ANY feather Tai, it's HIS feather. He's a Faunus. Unlike him, I actually bothered to read up on it. Brother, what you're doing is marking her as your _MATE_." It felt like Summer's world was crashing around her and exploding in bright colors all at once. Tai, ever confused, sweet Tai, spoke up again.

"So they're dating? What's so dramatic about that? Faunus can date whoever, it's no big deal." Raven glared at him. In all fairness, not knowing wasn't that uncommon among humans. But she learned to protect her sensitive little brother, so why can't others? "Tai. Look. Just...You know how Humans have marriage?"

"Yeah? Duh?"  
"Well imagine a marriage that's chemically binding. Hell, it has even been known to change a Faunus' Semblance color! So THAT, THAT is what the big deal is about my brother trying to Mate with someone he just met! No offense Summer, you're entertaining as hell, and great company, but I have NOT vetted you like THAT yet, and I won't have him crying at 3 am to me, AGAIN." After all the pacing she was doing, her hair was disheveled. Tai's face paled. Qrow looked like he wanted to curl in on himself. Summer, however, felt relieved.

"Thank you, Raven. For caring. About your brother and about Faunus in general. It means alot to us." Before anyone else could say anything, she pulled down her hood to reveal her soft fluffy rabbit ears. Raven gasped, Tai _squealed_. It was a wonder how he could do so quickly an about-face on his emotions. "I'd not realized earlier, but I had scented the change in him, but I wasn't sure what was happening. All I knew was that he made me really happy. I do also agree that it's a bit fast, and unexpected...but.. I'm not going to judge my relationship timeline on other's. If this is what me and him are comfortable with, and we _will_ have a talk about that, then that's what we'll do. Besides, I don't think he knew he was doing it." At this, Qrow shook his head. "I'm sure the pull must've been driving you insane Qrow." He simply nodded.

"It was like this near desperation to be near you, at all times. To protect you. I'd realized I wanted to protect you as soon as I met you, and I thought it was strange, but not....this." He ends his sentence gesturing vaguely at them, then decides to lay his head in her lap.

"We'll have to decide what to do soon, Qrow. For now, the need to touch is innocent but..." She blushes as she trails off, making it perfectly clear what she meant. She feels him nod as she starts stroking his head gently, humming a lullaby she knows from childhood.

"Looking at how things are progressing, I'd say you've only about three days before instinct takes over..." Raven said, sighing. "Figure it out before then. C'mon Romeo, I'm gonna need a drink after all this, and I'm buyin." Tai simply nods along and leaves with Raven to go to a local bar.


End file.
